Notorious Historical American Firsts Quiz

Answer: William Kemmler

The first execution by electrocution took place on August 6, 1890 at the Auburn prison in the state of New York. Kemmler was convicted of killing his lover, Matilda "Tilly" Ziegler with an ax in Buffalo, New York. The first application of the electric chair's current was botched and Kemmler did not die until the current was fired up a second time.

source: www.ccadp.org/electriccjair.htm

Answer: Muhammad Ali

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Ali was stripped of his heavyweight boxing title in April, 1967 by all sanctioning boxing organizations for refusing to be inducted into military service, claiming exemption as a Black Muslim minister.
Ali was convicted of draft evasion in May of 1967. He was given the maximum sentence of a $10,000 fine and five years in prison. It was felt at the time that Ali was being used as an example by the courts.
Ali appealed his conviction, and it was subsequently overturned in 1970. Ali was eventually able to regain his boxing title.

Answer: first law enforcement officer in the U.S. killed in the line of duty

The 40 year old Revolutionary War veteran was the first U.S. Marshal for the District of Georgia. On January 11, 1794, in Augusta, Georgia, accompanied by two of his deputies, he went to serve court papers regarding a civil suit on the Allen Brothers, Beverly and William. While speaking to the brothers in the downstairs portion of their residence, the brothers suddenly ran upstairs, entered a room, and locked the door. As the lawmen followed, Beverly Allen fired one shot through the door, striking Forsyth in the head, and killing him instantly.
The brothers were promptly arrested by the deputies, but later escaped from the local sheriff and were never brought to trial.

Source: www.marshal/historical/roll_call.htm

Answer: Charles Guiteau

Charles J. Guiteau was a mentally ill man who had previous petitioned the Garfield administration to appoint him as ambassador to France, a position he was completely unqualified for. At his trial, Guiteau attempted to use the insanity defense, insisting that he had been legally insane at the time of the shooting, but he was not really medically insane.

The jury did not believe his defense, and found him guilty. Following an unsuccessful attempt to appeal his conviction, Guiteau was hanged on June 30, 1882.

Answer: Vanessa Williams

Williams became the first black woman to become Miss America, in September 1983, only to be stripped of her title in June, 1984 when it was discovered that she had posed in 'hardcore' lesbian photos long before she entered the Miss America pageant. The photos of her were later published in "Penthouse Magazine".

Answer: D.B. Cooper

On November 24, 1971, after receiving a ransom payout of $200,000.00 (in twenty dollar bills), Cooper parachuted from the rear of a Boeing 727 as it flew over the Pacific Northwest. No conclusive evidence regarding Cooper's whereabouts has been uncovered.

The only clue to ever surface was $5,800.00 (in twenty dollar bills) that washed up on the banks of the Columbia River, and part of a sign believed to be from the rear stairway of the plane from which Cooper jumped. As of November 2006, Cooper's case remains the world's only unsolved hijacking.

Answer: H. H. Holmes

Holmes was the alias for Herman Webster Mudgett. Holmes trapped, tortured, and murdered possibly hundreds of guest at his Chicago, Illinois hotel, which he opened for the 1893 World's Fair. At his trial, Holmes confessed to 27 murders, though only nine have been confirmed. Over a period of three years, Holmes selected mostly female victims from among his employees, lovers, and other hotel guests, tortured them in soundproof and escape proof chambers within his hotel filled with gas lines that permitted him to asphyxiate his victims at any time.

While victim estimates generally range between 20 to 100, some sources estimate the victim count to be over 250. Following his murder convictions, Holmes was executed by hanging on May 7, 1896 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Answer: Charles P. McVay

After delivering the first Atomic bomb to be used in combat to the United States airbase at Tinian Island in July 26, 1945, the U.S.S. Indianapolis, a Portland-class heavy cruiser was hit by two torpedoes as she sailed in the Philippine Sea, fired by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945. Nearly one fourth of the ship's crew were killed in the attack. Most of the ship's crew was lost to shark attack, as they floated helplessly in the water for five days while waiting for assistance. Only 316 of the 1,196 member crew survived. In November of 1945, McVay was court-martialed and convicted of "hazarding his ship by failing to zigzag" a standard practice for warships while sailing in hostile waters. During this post war court-martial, Mochitasora Hashimoto, the captain of the Japanese submarine the sunk the U.S.S. Indianapolis testified that the zigzag maneuver would have made no difference in the sinking.
With over 700 United States Naval ships lost during World War II, McVay was the only ship's captain to be court-martialed for the loss of a ship.
Grief stricken many years after the tragic incident, McVay shot himself dead in his home in Litchfield, Connecticut on November 6 1968.
On October 2, 2000, the United States Congress passes a resolution that Captain McVay's record should reflect that he is exonerated from the loss of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. President Bill Clinton also signed the resolution.

Answer: Lee Harvey Oswald

Following the shooting of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, suspected assassin Oswald, according to several eye witnesses, shot and killed Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit. Tippit had stopped to talk to Oswald on the street near his rooming house, after noticing that Oswald fit the general description of Kennedy's assassin being broadcast on his police radio. Tippit was shot with Oswald's .38 caliber revolver four times, and was killed instantly. Oswald was arrested later that day but never stood trial for his suspected crimes. Two days later, Oswald was shot and killed in the basement of the Dallas Police Department headquarters as he was being transfered to another jail location, by Jack Ruby, a despondent Dallas resident and businessman.

Answer: Andrew Johnson

The 17th President of the United States was impeached in March of 1868. Impeachment is the presentation of formal charges against a public official by the lower house, with a trial before the upper house. In February, Johnson notified Congress of his intent to replace the Secretary of War, which constituted a violation of the "Tenure of Office Act", a law enacted by Congress on March 2, 1867, over Johnson's veto. Johnson's trial lasted three months.

The result was Johnson be acquitted by one vote. Conviction and removal from office would have required a two-thirds guilty vote from the Senate.